Teatro di Marcello (Theatre of Marcellus) in historical centre of Rome, Italy. October 8, 2025
Theatre of Marcellus, commissioned by Emperor Augustus, is one of the oldest Roman performance buildings that have come down to us, which could accommodate up to 20,000 people. The Theatre of Marcellus was an ancient open-air theatre, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. It is located in the modern rione of Sant'Angelo. In the 16th century, it was converted into a palazzo.
The theatre project was started by Julius Caesar, who expropriated the area and demolished the existing buildings, and was taken over by Augustus, who, with new expropriations and demolitions, enlarged the site for the construction of a larger building than the one designed by Caesar. Probably completed as early as 17 B.C., the Theatre of Marcellus was inaugurated in 13 or 11 B.C. and dedicated to the memory of Marcus Claudius Marcellus, son of Octavia, the emperor's sister, and therefore nephew and designated successor, who died prematurely in Baia in 27 B.C.
Restored by Vespasian and Alexander Severus, still in use in the 4th century, it was transformed into a fortress by the Pierleoni and Fabi families, given its elevated position near the Tiber. In the 16th century, Baldassarre Peruzzi erected a patrician palace on its summit for the Savelli family; two centuries later, it became the property of the Orsini family. Between 1926 and 1932, after having purchased the lower part corresponding to the ancient Roman theatre, the Municipality of Rome proceeded to a complete restoration of the building, freeing it from all the structures that had piled up around it and that had also occupied some of its rooms.
The Theatre of Marcellus was a majestic building with a diameter of 130 metres, in which the Roman-type theatre was realised in a completed form. The cavea, semicircular in shape, was built on blocks of tufa, in opus reticulatum and brickwork, on which white marble tiers of seats rested. The exterior of the theatre had a travertine façade with a triple order, of which the two lower ones with arches on pillars with Doric and Ionic semi-columns are preserved today. The keystones of the lower floors were decorated with colossal marble theatre masks representing tragedy, comedy and satirical drama.
Teatro di Marcello (Theatre of Marcellus) in historical centre of Rome, Italy. October 8, 2025
Theatre of Marcellus, commissioned by Emperor Augustus, is one of the oldest Roman performance buildings that have come down to us, which could accommodate up to 20,000 people. The Theatre of Marcellus was an ancient open-air theatre, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. It is located in the modern rione of Sant'Angelo. In the 16th century, it was converted into a palazzo.
The theatre project was started by Julius Caesar, who expropriated the area and demolished the existing buildings, and was taken over by Augustus, who, with new expropriations and demolitions, enlarged the site for the construction of a larger building than the one designed by Caesar. Probably completed as early as 17 B.C., the Theatre of Marcellus was inaugurated in 13 or 11 B.C. and dedicated to the memory of Marcus Claudius Marcellus, son of Octavia, the emperor's sister, and therefore nephew and designated successor, who died prematurely in Baia in 27 B.C.
Restored by Vespasian and Alexander Severus, still in use in the 4th century, it was transformed into a fortress by the Pierleoni and Fabi families, given its elevated position near the Tiber. In the 16th century, Baldassarre Peruzzi erected a patrician palace on its summit for the Savelli family; two centuries later, it became the property of the Orsini family. Between 1926 and 1932, after having purchased the lower part corresponding to the ancient Roman theatre, the Municipality of Rome proceeded to a complete restoration of the building, freeing it from all the structures that had piled up around it and that had also occupied some of its rooms.
The Theatre of Marcellus was a majestic building with a diameter of 130 metres, in which the Roman-type theatre was realised in a completed form. The cavea, semicircular in shape, was built on blocks of tufa, in opus reticulatum and brickwork, on which white marble tiers of seats rested. The exterior of the theatre had a travertine façade with a triple order, of which the two lower ones with arches on pillars with Doric and Ionic semi-columns are preserved today. The keystones of the lower floors were decorated with colossal marble theatre masks representing tragedy, comedy and satirical drama.